Welcome to Hell: Rediscovering First Love

“Gabrielle?” My mother’s voice echoed through the telephone wires. We had a bad connection.

She wasn’t sure that it was me on the phone. I could say “wrong number” but Yancy would only call back. You don’t have to answer the second time, I told myself. She would only be persistent in calling until she reached me. There was no alternative but to talk to my mother.

“Hi Yancy. What do you need?” I knew this conversation would take a while unless nipped in the bud.

Knowingly, Littie stepped around me and went to the kitchen alone to get the coffee ready while I tried to get rid of my mother. Littie knew where everything was to prepare the coffee should Yancy detain me longer than was necessary.

“This is horrible. You’re the only one who will understand

,” she moaned. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling since nine o’clock this morning.”

It was only eleven but I didn’t say anything to Yancy.

“Yancy, I have company can I call you back a little later?”

“No, I have to speak to you now,” Yancy replied anxiously.

I rolled my eyes and sighed wearily. “What is it now Yancy?”

“It’s Adin.”

“What is wrong with Adin?”

My voice betrayed my growing exasperation with my mother but she heard none of it. She was too absorbed in whatever problem she had regarding my younger sister Adin.

“You were right dear, she isn’t gay.”

I nearly laughed out loud at my mother’s words. I was dying to say I told you so but tactfully I replied, “Why are you now convinced that she isn’t gay after how many years of me telling you this?” This should be good. I knew for certain my sister wasn’t gay she just had so few opportunities in the town of Hell for dating that she wasn’t dating anyone women or men. Her girlfriends would get together and go to the city for entertainment so Yancy had put two and two together and had come up with six as usual.

“Well Gabrielle, I saw Harriet Reeves at the grocery this morning…”

“Didn’t you just go to the grocery store yesterday?” I asked interrupting my mother.

“Yes, what of it?” Yancy asked too innocently.

“Yancy stop flirting with Michaela’s father-in-law.”

“I’m not flirting with him. I just enjoy his compliments. It has been a long time since a man told me that I was beautiful. You know your father Gabrielle.”

“Yancy, Pop thinks you’re the most beautiful woman in the world and you know it. You don’t need another man to tell you this especially Michaela’s father-in-law.”

God, she was maddening, irksome, annoying and tedious. And any other tiresome words I could use to describe my mother that I couldn’t think of at this particular moment.

“A man needs to say it once in a while,” my mother griped. “Anyway, Alison doesn’t mind. If he’s bothering other women he isn’t bothering her.” Alison was Michaela’s mother-in-law.

“Anyway, Harriet told me that she saw your sister Adin coming out of the new gym teacher’s house this morning…with him. She was all over him according to Harriet. Making out in his front yard Harriet said.”

I highly doubted my sister was making out in the front yard of the gym teacher’s house but to irk my mother I said, “She’s finally getting laid. Good for her.” I’ll have to call her later and get all the details.

“Gabrielle,” Yancy said her daughter’s name indignantly, “this is a small town. Everyone knows that Adin spent the night at that man’s house. Hell, everyone in Patterson probably knows she spent the night with him after Harriet saw them this morning.”

I had to chuckle because my mother was right about that. “What kind of example is that for her to be to her young students?” Yancy was infuriated. Another daughter having sex without being married for the entire town of Hell to know. I get it now. Appearance. She was really concerned about what people would think of her because of another daughter’s actions.

“Really I don’t think that Adin is screwing the gym teacher in her classroom in front of her students. She is twenty-eight years old. Did you really think she was a virgin? You and dad had sex before you were married. Why is it such a big deal if Adin does?” Or if I did or Michaela did? Everyone in Hell knew we were big sluts like our mother. Those Dawson girls!

“We did not,” my mother screeched into my ear permanently damaging my hearing I was afraid. “And I have no illusions that any of my daughters know how to keep their legs closed,” she added in a less than shrill voice.

“Yancy, Pop told me all about it when I got pregnant with Kat. He thought that by somehow letting me in on his secret I wouldn’t feel so bad for letting you both down especially since I didn’t marry Kerry. Yancy, really I don’t think that Adin is sharing explicit details about her sex life with her elementary age students. I think her students are safe with her.”